Questions tagged [united-kingdom]
For questions that relate to the laws, practices, and products of the United Kingdom.
2,154
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Have I left investing until too late?
I'm 44 and have only the investment of a house. I was scared off ISAs (individual savings accounts) etc because of the complexity, choice, etc and only now have I come to make the decision to open an ...
12
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6
answers
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What is the process of getting your first share?
Hello I'm 21 years old and I recently moved to London currently employed as an Salesforce Administrator at Heathrow Airport. Everyone here talks about owning shares investing in different types of ...
12
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1
answer
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I've got a mortgage illustration but haven't signed anything and have never been asked for ID, is this normal?
My partner and I are in the process of buying our first home. We had been to the bank to get the Agreement in Principle, found a house and got an offer accepted and now have been back to the bank and ...
12
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4
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Why would I/when should I stick with decreasing term life insurance?
I have been approved for some decreasing term life insurance, with a 25 year term and a decreasing payout by 8% each year. I can leave the contract at any time and take out new life insurance.
What I ...
12
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3
answers
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Can I take personal loan in UK and send the proceeds to parents abroad?
I am an EU citizen and have been working many years in UK. I don't have any debts, but do possess a good credit score thanks to using a credit card all that time.
My parents are thinking of buying a ...
12
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2
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Ok to use U.S. Visa gift card internationally?
My daughter received a Visa gift card for Christmas that does not contain a chip. She wants to use it when she travels to the U.K. in April. Will it be accepted?
12
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1
answer
994
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Is reward money taxable?
Police in the UK have offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect in a double murder:
Police hunting a man suspected of murdering his ex-partner and her mother believe he is ...
11
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11
answers
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Is CFD trading a good idea?
I am planning on speculating in forex and possibly indices, however due to my lack of experience I don't want to invest too much.
With £100, you can't really get very far with indices, and profit ...
11
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8
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UK - Can I buy things for myself through my company?
this is a UK-based question.
I understand that there are certain purchases that you can make using the revenue of your limited liability company, and this is beneficial as you are using money that has ...
11
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5
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Is exceeding the U.K. Personal Savings Allowance - and being taxed - a bad move?
I’m based in the U.K. and in 2022 inherited approx £370k
I did not have any debts, except a mortgage on my main and only home, which I paid off in full.
I made use of my full £20k ISA limit over the ...
11
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1
answer
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What does the letter "c" mean with a number in an annual report (UK)
I had a question when reviewing an annual report of a company Wood PLC. In their report they have used the letter "c" in lowercase after different types of numbers.
E.g., basic EPS is ...
11
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7
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Is it possible to pay the remaining monthly payments of a mortgage instead of cancelling the mortgage and paying the early repayment fee?
I would like to know generally about paying off a mortgage when selling a property.
If a mortgaged property is sold, is it possible to pay the remaining monthly payments of a mortgage instead of ...
11
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6
answers
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When will the U.K. convert to the Euro as an official currency?
When will the United Kingdom switch to using the Euro? The main group of European countries have adopted it as a common currency and it appears this is the future direction. If not, what are the ...
11
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2
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What happened to the shares of Lukoil ADR that I bought on the London Stock Exchange?
I have some ADR shares of PJSC Lukoil (LKOD, US69343P1057) that I bought on the London Stock Exchange via Interactive Brokers. I noticed that now I can neither sell my shares nor buy more of them. ...
11
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4
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What's the reason I can't have insurance with more than one company?
Excuse my pure ignorance on this matter, I barely understand the basics of any insurance. When I first moved to the UK years ago I have been told that I can't have life, health, car, contents ...
11
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1
answer
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Can I deduct my rent from UK taxes when working from home?
Since the Covid-19 lockdown started in March 2020, many in the UK have been forced to work from home. Is it possible to use rent as a tax deduction?
What does UK tax law say about this? Is there ...
11
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3
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How to stop myself from spending my tax money?
I have some money saved up to pay taxes in my personal tax return but I want to do something with it that stops me from spending it on other things.
Can I pay the taxes early?
Can I put it in some ...
11
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3
answers
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How should we deal with money during my spouse's maternity leave?
I recently realised that my partner is more anxious than I suspected about what we're going to do about money.
Principally, she feels guilty for spending money on herself, and is worried about the ...
11
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1
answer
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Are UK pensions taxed twice?
I, like many, have a workplace pension. I pay taxes through PAYE and file a self assessment covering all other income. My understanding is that your personal pension pot is 25% tax free then you pay ...
11
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2
answers
3k
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Putting fiancée on the mortgage during a renewal
The mortgage is due to be renewed in March as the product's life-cycle is naturally coming to an end, and so we figured now might be a good time to put my fiancée on the mortgage (as opposed to before ...
11
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3
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Housewife pension options
We live in the UK. I have a job and pay into a company provided pension (with the company then paying in some extra). My wife left her job a couple of years ago and is now a 'house wife' aka stay-at-...
11
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5
answers
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Should I start my own company so I can claim against tax?
I live in the UK and I'm an employed web and mobile phone developer and very occasionally do some work on the side. I've been recently advised by a family member that I should look at starting my own ...
11
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2
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How do I divide equity following separation with cohabiting partner?
I have been in a cohabiting relationship for 20 years - we are living in a property that we have lived in for 12 years - we bought the property for £95,000 and the property is now valued at £190,000 ...
11
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3
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How can I invest my personal money in my own Limited company in the UK?
I registered a Limited company in the UK one year ago and I am the sole shareholder and sole director of the company. Now I want to invest £50k in the company so that I can buy products and rest of ...
11
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1
answer
690
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Is credit score an international thing?
I have moved from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom and credit score is a big thing here, while afaik there is no such thing in the Netherlands.
Will a positive or negative credit score in the ...
11
votes
1
answer
1k
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What is CGT rate if you have no taxable income?
gov.uk lists 4 tax bands:
personal allowance
basic rate
higher rate
additional rate
On its capital gains tax rate page, it explains the rates for:
"higher or additional rate taxpayer"; ...
11
votes
1
answer
1k
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Calculate Income Tax amount of UK Salary
I've recently been trying to calculate different take home amounts from different salaries, and have ended up getting confused over how the different tax brackets work. If I try to calculate the ...
11
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1
answer
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I gave items to a Charity Shop to sell, and signed up for Gift Aid on the donated items when sold. Should I put this on my Self-Assessment?
I gave items to a Charity Shop to sell, and signed up for Gift Aid on the donated items when sold. This increases the profit to the charity, who send me an annual letter informing me how much Gift Aid ...
11
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3
answers
18k
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Opening American credit cards while residing in the UK
In order to introduce the context of the question, I am a UK citizen with a good credit rating and no debts who currently resides in the UK, and do not currently own property in the US.
In reference ...
11
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1
answer
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Should I stop over-paying my mortgage before moving?
In response to this question:
Does Bank Manager's discretion still exist in Mortgage Lending
a user ("Bryce") commented:
Stop overpaying your old mortgage now. Maybe even take out a home ...
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4
answers
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How should I handle a request for payment from a bitcoin investment company to recover coins they sent to me that are "stuck in limbo"?
I made a bitcoin investment with a company online. The first return sent back to me was fine but the second has issues. They sent me an email like the first time stating that the money was sent but I ...
10
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3
answers
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Is it standard practise for rent to increase in line with the RPI?
UK based, South East specifically, but not London.
I have a rental contract which specifies the rent will increase yearly in line with the RPI, minimum 3% and maximum 7.5%.
I'm not sure if this is ...
10
votes
2
answers
1k
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How to represent mortgage overpayments in household budget
I keep a household budget spreadsheet, one tab of which represents our savings.
Some of our savings is in traditional savings vehicles (ISAs etc.), but some of it has been used to overpay the ...
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4
answers
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As a young adult, what can I be doing with my excess income?
I am a 20 year old living in the UK. I've had a look at my monthly incomings/outgoing and have realised I have approx £400-600 (~$600-$900) to spare per month, and that at the minute I'm just ...
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1
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What is the definition of a "first time buyer" with relation to the UK "help to buy isa"?
I'm very interested in the soon to be released "help to buy isa". I'm unclear on the definition of a first time buyer.
I have owned a house (with my ex wife) but I am no longer on this mortgage, ...
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2
answers
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How to bet against the London housing market?
A lot of people are talking about a property bubble in London and I was wondering: how could you short the property market and bet on a crash? Is there any obvious way? Basically, how could someone ...
10
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1
answer
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How are UK PAYE Tax tables calculated?
I am trying to workout how the UK tax tables are generated.
If you look at the monthly tables from HMRC:
Month £ diff
1 533.46 533.46
2 1066.93 533.47
3 1600 533.07
4 2133.46 533.46
...
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1
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Does 3rd party car insurance cover damage to phone?
I was knocked off my bicycle by a car driver. He stopped and offered to pay for damages. My phone was broken in the incident. He says that his insurance does not cover it, and he is only willing to ...
10
votes
2
answers
711
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My Boss owes money but I am named on letter from debt collection agency (UK)
My employer has an outstanding debt with a company he aked me to speak with a couple of years ago. Now that company has my name listed as a "contact". He received a letter from a debt collection ...
10
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3
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Estate Agents Told Us House Requires a 50% deposit
We called an estate agent today to arrange a house viewing, shortly after they called back saying the purchase would require a massive 50% deposit so we cancelled the booking as this is out of our ...
10
votes
2
answers
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Donation via text message, does all (or most) of the money go to the charity?
A while ago a signed up via text message to Save the Children £3 per month. I get a message every month saying thank you for donating and £3 is added to my phone bill. But I wonder does the phone ...
9
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7
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Does it make sense to get a second mortgage on a second property for Buy to Let
I am a UK resident and home-owner with a mortgage that is 2.5 times my pretax annual salary.
Having investigated the price of my home now since I bought it, I was pleasantly surprised by the return on ...
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5
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In layman's terms, what is balance transfer?
I know very little about my credit cards, all I know is that I make sure to do the minimum payments on time. Some suggested that I do balance transfer?
What is that suppose to mean?
Can someone pay ...
9
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6
answers
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First salary in the UK not being taxed
I just started working in the UK for the first time and received my first payslip. Another colleague of mine got his second payslip here, from the same company.
We were surprised that in the detail ...
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2
answers
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What happens to pension schemes when they run out of beneficiaries?
At a very crude level:
Beneficiaries put money into pension schemes (actually, their employers pay into the schemes on their behalf, but w/e, money goes in).
The pension schemes pay money back to ...
9
votes
2
answers
1k
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Savings advice for a 16 year old with £20,000 - convicing my parents that investing this into a property is a bad idea
My younger brother runs a small yet lucrative business in his free time. He has accumulated around £20k in a very short time.
My mother wants him to put this money into buying a property, i.e: a ...
9
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4
answers
781
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How to make it harder to access my money
I want to start being more sensible with my money, this is especially hard around payday when I receive a month's-worth of pay at once.
It's all too easy to go for a couple beers after work only to ...
9
votes
1
answer
2k
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How do I close a bank account that I no longer have any information for?
There is a Barclays bank account in my name that is overdrawn that I haven't touched in about 5 years.
I went to the bank with my passport, and they said that it wasn't coming up on the system with ...
9
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2
answers
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UK - wife declined for credit card due to pregnancy
My wife was recently declined for a credit card based solely on the fact she is 6 months pregnant and will soon be on maternity leave.
The scenario details are as follows:
Application was made in ...
9
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1
answer
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With regards to a national insurance refund, what is my Work or Clock number?
So i got a letter from hmrc (UK tax) letting me know I'm due for a refund, and on one of the bits I need to fill out it asks me for my "Work or Clock number" for each job I've had during the tax year.
...